FCC Moves to Speed Small Cell Deployments

The Federal Communications Commission today announced new initiatives that it hopes will reduce the number of hurdles network operators have to jump in order to deploy small or temporary cells. Specifically, the FCC clarified a technical provision in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 concerning local review of requests to modify existing wireless towers or base stations. It also launched proceedings to help speed up carriers' temporary network additions, such as Cells On Wheels (COWs) and Cells On Light Trucks (COLTs), which are typically used temporarily in public spaces to provide additional coverage. Last, the FCC is going to explore whether or not the existing shot clock that municipalities use to evaluate new cell tower applications is sufficient. The FCC expects these initiatives to play out over the next few months.